U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Tristan Weaver, center, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, explains how to maneuver while maintaining security to 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade Guardsmen during Exercise Valiant Mark 2023 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 9, 2023. Valiant Mark 23 is an annual, bilateral training exercise conducted between the Singapore Armed Forces and I Marine Expeditionary Force. (Nicolas Atehortua/U.S. Marine Corps)
(Tribune News Service) — Live fire training, including helicopters flying while firing at targets on a gun range at Camp Pendleton, could create some booms and blasts that would be heard in the region over the next several days as Marines train with a visiting Singapore Armed Forces brigade.
The exercises are expected to start in the field on Thursday and continue into next week. The Marines are training the Singaporean military in gunfire tactics and amphibious warfare.
The exercise, known as Valiant Mark, has grown in size and scope since first held in the mid-2000s. Recently it has focused more on amphibious training, officials said. This year’s event includes 179 guardsmen from the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade and 274 Marines.
“We’re able to walk senior leaders of the guards through our process, including war gaming and decision-making for the operation,” said Capt. Kevin Buss, a spokesman for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit returned in June from a seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific, where Marines spent time in Singapore.
“We will pick up where we left off, continue our bilateral training, and create everlasting personal and professional bonds,” Col. Stuart Glenn, commanding officer of the 13th MEU, said. “It is an honor to be working with our Singaporean partners again.”
Valiant Mark began with opening ceremonies at Camp Pendleton on Saturday. Then the visiting troops hit the books in the classroom before getting more hands-on with some of the Marines’ weapon systems.
On Thursday, Marines will demonstrate mortar fire with aircraft from the 3rd Marine Air Wing. Other units participating include the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines; 1st Marine Logistics Group; and the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. The exercise is meant to demonstrate close air support where communications from the ground call in aircraft to hit targets. The Singaporeans will fire mortars with Marine oversight, Buss said.
Next week, the training moves to amphibious operations, where troops will be carried ashore at beaches between Oceanside and San Clemente. The exercise will be visible from the 5 Freeway, officials said, and will teach the visiting troops how Marines make amphibious landings and will also demonstrate how, when ashore, they assault the beach and move inland.
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